Canadian LRT/RT projects U/C

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by SFUVancouver

That's great news for Montreal and the REM project.

This is only the first phase too. There are discussions of having the REM in the East of Montreal and continuing the existing project further in the suburbs. There should be announcements next year.

If that goes on, Montreal would have the biggest SkyTrain in the world, on top of its metro.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

This is only the first phase too. There are discussions of having the REM in the East of Montreal and continuing the existing project further in the suburbs. There should be announcements next year.

If that goes on, Montreal would have the biggest SkyTrain in the world, on top of its metro.

Have to get as much done as possible before people realize what it has done to the city budget! Not that I oppose it, just the attitude today seems to be that the city is getting something for free.

[casper]

Originally Posted by niwell

The Crosstown is fundamentally different than any of the transit projects undertaken in the cities you have listed. That includes tunneling a relatively short distance under central Ottawa and the tiny station boxes of Vancouver's Canada line. It could be done more quickly, however that would require more money for concurrent construction of various aspects of the project.

Claiming fraud is an extremely weighty claim that I'd expect a professional engineer to be able to back up.

The Crosstown line is different from the Vancouver skytrain line in that one is value engineered through a tender process and the other is more political.

Canada Line is a private-public partnership. The government went out with an RFP saying we need to run this frequency of trains, this number of passengers, and stations at this points. We don't care about technology, come back to us with a proposal to design, build and operate the solution for the next 20 years. The reason the stations are as small as they are is they don't need to be bigger to handle the volume. There was a requirement to handle some expansion 20 years out so they were designed to be extended once required.

SNC Lavalin (with its partners Hyundai and others) won the bid. That is the reason Canada line has different technology than any of the other lines on the system.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

This is only the first phase too. There are discussions of having the REM in the East of Montreal and continuing the existing project further in the suburbs. There should be announcements next year.

If that goes on, Montreal would have the biggest SkyTrain in the world, on top of its metro.

do you have more info on that 2nd phase ? suburbs, Longueuil ?

[ToxiK]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

This is only the first phase too. There are discussions of having the REM in the East of Montreal and continuing the existing project further in the suburbs. There should be announcements next year.

If that goes on, Montreal would have the biggest SkyTrain in the world, on top of its metro.

Do you know that for sure or are those rumours?

[lake of the nations]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

Have to get as much done as possible before people realize what it has done to the city budget! Not that I oppose it, just the attitude today seems to be that the city is getting something for free.

Actually, the city is getting it for free.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by lake of the nations

Actually, the city is getting it for free.

Dedicating tax room (tax increment financing) to a project is no different than raising taxes to pay for a project. Only an accounting difference really. There will also be a public captial contribution. How is that free ?

[lake of the nations]

Only a yet-to-be-determined percentage of the increased benefits attributable to new developments within a radius of 500-1000 m of the REM stations would go to the Caisse. The City really has nothing to lose.

[vanman]

Metrotown skytrain station renos.

[SpongeG]

the Coquitlam expansion aka evergreen line will open before christmas 2016....

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytr...this-christmas

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the Coquitlam expansion aka evergreen line will open before christmas 2016....

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/skytr...this-christmas

That seems to be an awful long way between Burquitlam and Moody Centre without a station. Was there originally a station planned to be there, or is there some other reason why there isn't a station on this stretch?

[Metro-One]

The tunnel dives under a rather steep hill there, so the tunnel itself is quite deep in most places. Also, the area above is relatively lightly populated.

[SpongeG]

yeah, the bus service along clark road there can get people to the station easily

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the Coquitlam expansion aka evergreen line will open before christmas 2016....

That's good news! It only took less than 5 years to build overall, even if the delivery was late.

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally Posted by d_jeffrey

I actually have a PhD in engineering and worked on transit projects in Ottawa and now in Montreal.

Your LRT/subway projects are twice as long to build and nearly thrice as costly as in other canadian cities (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa) with no notable good arguments. This reeks of either incompetence or fraud. I'd say a combination of both.

I already said they are purposely dragged out in Toronto. Good for you however, the degree and experience is knowledge that can only get you in trouble unless you have actually worked on any of the projects in Toronto and know of all the nuances that add to the overall budget.

And, exactly what Canadian projects are you speaking of in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa?

[MalcolmTucker]

^ Can't just look at distance versus cost. You have to look at ppdph, catchment/bus feeder area, geology and site conditions (constrained sites).

Toronto really seems to like building projects in corridors where they have to move all their utilities, then the deferred maintenance on the utilities is covered partially by senior levels of government instead of being 100% city.

[WhipperSnapper]

First, let's set aside all the fraud and corruption linked to SNC Lavalin.

They are the chosen partner to build the Crosstown. Ontario's contribution just happens to be some cash rather than some convoluted real estate deal. For this reason, the location seems secondary. If there is corruption and fraud in Toronto, there is certainly the same level of corruption and fraud with the Vancouver and Montreal builds.

[1overcosc]

Toronto's transit system is extremely "street-oriented". With the exception of the University branch of Line 1 north of Bloor, pretty much the entire Toronto subway follows identifiable streets. This drives up costs and draws out construction schedules because it means there's more interactions with properties, more interactions with utilities, more disruption in construction (meaning more political incentive to slow things down a bit), etc.

The upside, though, is pretty great. The street-oriented nature of rapid transit allows it to truly tie into the city in a way that Vancouver's and Montreal's and soon-to-be-Ottawa's systems can't.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

Toronto's transit system is extremely "street-oriented". With the exception of the University branch of Line 1 north of Bloor, pretty much the entire Toronto subway follows identifiable streets. This drives up costs and draws out construction schedules because it means there's more interactions with properties, more interactions with utilities, more disruption in construction (meaning more political incentive to slow things down a bit), etc.

The upside, though, is pretty great. The street-oriented nature of rapid transit allows it to truly tie into the city in a way that Vancouver's and Montreal's and soon-to-be-Ottawa's systems can't.

the REM will be the complete opposite of a street-oriented transit system. lol

[vanman]

Lincoln Station on the Evergreen Line in Coquitlam. Just over two months to go before it goes into service.